Can You Use Marble Tiles for a Kitchen Countertop?

You can use marble tiles for kitchen countertop with a good sealer in place. Marble including the Carrara marble slabs is actually denser and does not need sealing as they are dense whereas applying an impregnating sealer will control and minimize staining and other issues.

There are durable sealers available in market which form permanent bonds and comes in a DIY kit and instructions.  But you should be prepared for some potential problems as well. The granite marble slabs are a durable material for use but everyday use of these slabs of marble necessitates vigilant care and maintenance. Carrara marble slabs need proper cleaning methods else will look worn down and older day by day. You need to follow some simple steps in order to maintain these marble products as below:

Cleaning process

1. First you need to wet the surface of the marble tiles with hot water.
2. Apply the soapless cleaner by way of a wet sponge. Wash the marble tiles in small circular motion
3. Use soft cotton material you need to dry the area and allow drying for the sealer to be applied over it.

Preserving process

1. You need to wipe off the spills immediately to avoid staining. After this, use the cleaning steps above to be followed to clean the slabs of marble.
2. Place coasters with rubber bottoms under all drinks and place mats under the items which tend to scratch the marble tiles.
3. Avoid placing oily substances like the alcoholic drink, diary products and cosmetics directly on the 

          Egyptian marble to avoid stains on the surface.

4. Keep away sharp objects from any marble products to avoid scratches.

Egyptian marble companies have periodic maintenance provided for their customers. Marble in Egypt is of good quality but the suppliers recommend them for flooring and statues but not for kitchen countertops where there is a lot of expose to heat.

A study says around eleven percent of your kitchen remodelling budget is being used for countertops. So you can mix a bundle of various types of marbles slabs on your countertops. You can make use of the ‘Butcher block’ at warm places and ‘Pastry making where you need a glossy look. The various options are as below:

1. Laminate kitchen countertops which use layers of decorative papers. These marbles have good stain, abrasion and moisture resistance.
2. Solid surfacing kitchen countertops use nonporous, seamless surfaces made up of a blend of acrylic resins with fillers for a smooth finish.
3. Ceramic Tile kitchen top (vitrified tiles) but they do not lend a luxurious look in your kitchen.

You need to decide upon the luxury level look of your choice for the kitchen countertops in your house.

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How to choose good Marble Products:

The selection of marble slabs is a very personal choice of any individual. Granite marble slabs continue to be the popular choice and it is very important that you understand the properties of each variety of stone and its durability before making a decision.

Granite:

            Granite is to be found in about 300 colors and mines in Europe produce most of the granite slabs. Depending on where from the granite was mined, they are of different colours. The various patterns are scratches, grains and stains. Most of the fabricators categorize these slabs of granite to make selection easier based on grades- where Grade A is the least and the Grade E is the most expensive. So the granite suppliers are mostly the quarry owners who produce various grades of granite in their factories.

Marble:

              Marble slabs are more porous than granite slabs and are generally a softer stone. These slabs tend to scratch easier and break if exposed to high heat; thereby making it not suitable for kitchen countertops.

Egyptian marbles are used always for artwork like sculptures and statues. So these marble in Egypt, even though are costlier can be used as ornaments or statues only and not for high heat exposing places rather as a decorative accent throughout the house.

Marble tiles are usually used in bathrooms and as in granites. These have grains which must be considered while selecting the appropriate stone for the purpose. Hence the Egyptian marble companies put forward various marble products of varied grains based on the budget we provide them.

You need to choose the best slabs of marble based on the properties of each type of the marble since the properties and behaviour of marble are understood to make an accurate and reasonable selection.

The qualities and attributes of the various varieties of marble can be identified from the patterns and grains on them. There are three main types of sealers to look for in identifying the quality of the marble slab.

1. Topical Sealers:

                  These are urethane sealers, applied on top of the natural stone marble, acting as enhancers in turn as sealers. They provide protection but wear out quickly at busy places and require resealing often. The result is a polished appearance that will change the look of natural marble and make it slippery.

2.  Penetrating Sealers

                  These sealers actually seep into the marble and are effective in repelling liquids and oil. They are natural stone sealers and will not affect the look on application. They serve as a special cleaner to avoid damages to its properties. They also want re-application.

3. Impregnating Sealers

                        These are the best choice of superior protection. These stone sealers  will bond with at molecular level and do not affect the surface and repels water from inside the stone.

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How to Use Granite Marble Slabs:

If you would like to have a Granite or Marble interior for your house or want to sculpt an artwork or an exterior resurfacing, then you need to know a lot about the Granite Marble slabs like the various varieties of marble products, best granite suppliers , where from the most import of marble happens etc. Primarily you need to be aware of the various marble slabs or marble tiles available in the market. 

Pure white marble slab is a result of metamorphism of a very pure limestone or dolomite. These characteristic swirls and veins of various marble varieties are usually due to mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert that were present as grains or layers in the limestone that is dug out from quarries initially.

Green colored ones are due to serpentine, resulting from originally high magnesium limestone or dolostone with silica impurities. The impurities have been mobilized and recrystallized due to intense pressure and heat duly by metamorphism. Generally, marbles are categorized based on geology where the Egyptian marbles gain their name among all.

The Egyptian marble or granite slab comes from the best quarries (the granite or marble mines) from Egypt and then handled in production lines for cuts to produce the full line Egyptian ceramic tiles. These slabs or tiles come in dimensions as below (in inches)

• 12x12x1/2
• 18x18x1/2
• 24x24x1/2

The slabs come in 6 ft wide x 10 feet long x ¾ inches in thickness. Larger sizes and other specifications are also available for us to choose from based upon our needs. Once these are polished, honed, brushed and chiselled, they are ready for use.

Most of those that remain of ancient Egypt consist of stone. These are building stones for temples, pyramids, tombs, ornamental stones, sarcophagi, shrines, statues, and other sculptures. These also include gemstones for jewelry and utilitarian stones as tools, weapons, pigments, and other applications most of it been designed out of the Marble in Egypt when it comes to sculptures and statues.  The slabs of marble been used for this purpose is polished to enhance the look of it.

There are various Egyptian Marble companies which specialize in various marble products for its intended purposes. These companies own their own quarries in Egypt with factory and equipments to complete the marble until packing and delivery. These marble and granite suppliers provide you with complete details and various dimensions of their products apt to your requirement and they handle the process from taking order until delivery, leaving us with less concerns about the right choice.

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Various benefits of Import of Marble

Generally, the import of  marble slabs takes place as per the government norms and regulations. In various countries there exist various policies to suit their economy. The Egyptian marbles mark their place at ninth in the world trade. Granite suppliers bid for the licenses issued by the concerned government which needs to be renewed every year. Import of marble from Egyptian marbles industry has proved to be the most beneficial for Asian markets since the local Asian suppliers bid through the middleman in Egypt to procure licenses for the quarries. There are various benefits as listed below in importing marble.

1.      Cheap Labour: The Egyptian market has cheap labour available with good knowledge of the granite marble slabs. These local labours make the cost involved in marble digging lesser than the ones available in other markets.

2.      Cheap Imports: The import duty and import cost involved in these marble slabs account to less expenditure for the wholesale suppliers worldwide because they come from direct quarries in Egypt.

3.      High margins: Since the local suppliers place orders in the wholesale market in Egypt directly form quarries, the cost involved is a bulk sale whereas when these are sold in retain markets they can be higher due to the reasons quoted by the retail suppliers like import duty, transportation cost etc.

4.      Foreign exchange difference: The foreign exchange difference also pays way for a marginal benefit in wholesale orders by the retail suppliers.       

 The worldwide recognition for such marble products has increased due to their quality and variety. Across the countries you see that the Egyptian marble is prevalent everywhere due to import of slabs of marbles. These slabs of granite or marble are received by the importer after quarrying, cutting and polishing.

Who are the major suppliers of marble?

Turkey, China and Italy remain the major suppliers for the US. Even though they suffered a reduction in volumes exported to US, its values increased. Especially China felt the economic downturn in its trade with export of processed granite by 5.7 percent since South Korea and Japan reduced their imports from China, followed by the increased imports by China in raw granite marble slabs from the major quarries in Egypt.

Thus considering the great demand for this product all over the world, among all class of people, importing of marble from Egypt does make sense and a profitable venture too!

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Know More About Egyptian Marble

Egyptian marbles are the oldest and the finest marble products in the world.  Egyptian marble is famous for high luster and visual appeal in terms of quality, appearance, designs and patterns of numerous sizes and utility. These marble slabs do not need any chemical reinforcement like other marble products.  There is abundant availability of this marble tiles in this area for over the past 100 years now. 

There are various advantages of Egyptian marble because these marbles slabs do not become yellow due to the zero percent iron content in it. They also have some disadvantages like the cracks and colouration in low priced marble tiles. But this can be avoided if the high priced Egyptian marble is bought 

There is rampant import of marble of this type to various parts of the world. Marble produced in Egypt is of over 25 different types and granite tiles are ranked as the ninth. Granite marble slabs have been used by ancient Romans and Greeks like Leonard Da Vinci and Michelangelo and were the sculptors who brought in this culture of sculpting marble into use. Marble in Egypt became a symbol of luxury.

 For the first five years plan, Egypt had the aim of ornament making from precious stones like these. At the same time efforts were taken to develop the cutting and processing machines for these luxury marble or granite slabs. In the wake of privatization of this industry, it brought in a lot of foreign investment in the country. Thereby the Egyptian marble dealers flourished with high profits and growth.

Egyptian marble companies often turn out to be the quarry owners who also own a factory to furbish the raw marble slabs of marble. Hence they tend to produce various types of marble products of various price tags. Egyptian marbles industry can be divided into two -  marble quarrying and marble processing. Among this, the quarrying gets a lot of investment than the latter.

These quarries are granted license every year and it needs to be renewed every year. These granite suppliers supply polished marbles for use directly and they tend to slightly fade, may be after 25 years and might require a re-polishing which is also handled by these companies.  

There are a lot of means by which now a day’s people are entering into this market from various parts of the world, thereby making the industry flourish. Asian and European markets are trying to enter into this through middleman in Egypt to procure licenses that are granted.

Hence the Egyptian marble and the industry related to it offers great business opportunities.

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